Today’s first reading is the one most commonly chosen for
funerals, and no wonder. It has virtually no equal for the comfort it offers,
except for the 23rd Psalm, as we “walk through the dark valley” of grief and
tears.

Death is among the causes of Mary’s tears at La Salette.
“Children under seven will be seized with trembling and die in the arms of the
persons who hold them.” Like many of the prophets, she would rather see such a
prophecy unfulfilled. The death of the little innocent ones wrings all but the
hardest of hearts, how much more the gentle heart of Mother Mary.

This, of course, would require that her people change their
ways and return to God with all their heart.

“We who were baptized into Christ Jesus,” writes St. Paul,
“were baptized into his death.” This is not a depressing thought, but a
hope-filled one. He goes on to add that the object of baptism is that “we too
might live in newness of life.” As death no longer has power over Jesus, so it
will have no more power over us.

The Beautiful Lady calls us to live the life of the
baptized, to let the power of grace work in us. Eternal life is our Christian
destiny, now and hereafter, a most especial gift. Mary’s tears fall in
abundance because her people, by rejecting the gift, have rejected the Giver.

Yet is her hope “full of immortality.” She will not abandon
us. To achieve her goal she uses every means: words of encouragement, words of
complaint, motherly advice, as well as symbols that may speak variously to each
of us.

She will see us through the crisis, she will guide us to the
banquet of life, to her Son who will raise us up on the last day.

The way may be like the steep zigzag path that Mary traced
at the end of the Apparition just before she disappeared. Like the two
children, however, we can stay close
behind, confident that where she leads we cannot fail to be secure. She will
bring us to her Son, through whose death we have, and will have, grace and
life.

dimanche 26 octobre 2014

Fire is a biblical symbol. God reveals himself in the form of fire. On Mt. Sinai, Moses encountered God in the burning bush. In Exodus 13:21, God guided the Israelites by giving them a pillar of fire to light their wayacross the dark wilderness when they escaped from from Egypt.

On the mountain of transfiguration, God appeared in a very bright light- the light that transfigured Jesus, a blinding light for the three apostles. God appeared in tongues of fire at Pentecost. Similarly, God revealed himselfon the mountain of La Salette in a globe of fire that enveloped a weeping Lady as narrated by the children.

Yes, Mary’s first appearance to the children was that of a weeping, sorrowful Mother enveloped with a bright light.The children also said that she was wearing a large cross on her breast with the pincer, hammer and a large chain around her shoulders. The children narrated that the tears that landed on the large crucifix on her breast sparkled with bright light around her. They testified that the light surrounded her and stayed with her all the time that she was speaking with them.

It is clear to see the symbolism of the light that surrounded her. The bright lightis both the light of the Resurrection and the tongues of fire at Pentecost. It is a light of hope. Like the prophets of the Old Testament who make the people aware of their transgressions toward God, and announced hope if they would turn to God, so doesthe Virgin at La Salette bring the gift of hope in the resurrection and Pentecost to all her people.

Belle Dion

Reflection questions:

In your experience of dark times in your life, who helped you found the light?

jeudi 23 octobre 2014

“The whole law and the prophets
depend on these two commandments,” says Jesus. Love of God and of neighbor are
truly the foundation of all Christian life. If they can be taken for granted,
the rest will follow.

But the rest does not always
follow. This is why there are so many other commandments to help us apply the
two greatest commandments to our everyday life.

At La Salette Mary alludes
specifically to two of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not take the name of
the Lord your God in vain,” and “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.” The
violation of these demonstrated that the Greatest Commandment was not in fact
being observed.

She does not speak explicitly of
love of neighbor. Rather, she demonstrates it, by reaching out to her people in
their need. She knows their sin and their suffering, and weeps over both.

So she offers a solution to both.
The word “submit” that she uses corresponds to the biblical notion of “fear of
the Lord,” which in turn means a sense of intense awe and reverence. This leads
to obedience but also, at a deeper level, to a real desire to obey, a desire to
know God’s will.

Remember this passage in the
Gospel? “While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to
him, ‘Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you
nursed.’ He replied, ‘Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and
observe it.’" (Luke 11:27-28) Far from denying his mother’s dignity, he
drew attention to the source of her blessedness.

The commandments are one of the
ways in which God lets us know what he wants of us, Of all his people. With
individuals, however, sometimes he just invites.

The angel Gabriel did not
bring a command to Mary, and yet she submitted to God’s will: “Let it be done
to me according to your word.” That’s how it is with those who love God with
all their being. Once they have discerned God’s will, they rejoice (think of
Mary’s rapturous Magnificat), and are delighted to carry it out.

Now that is something to think about, right? No. I take that back. DREAM about it. Make sure that you turn it over and over in your head.

To give yourself a head-start, think about the gifts that you have already received. Starting from that point, you will be able to see more clearly where it is that you want to go. Starting from there you will also know that the same source that produced the gifts for which you are thankful, will clear your mind to help you to see where it is that you should go. That will be the foundation for your dreams.

Let the dream let you draw your blueprint for what the goal will look like. This is a necessary exercise since effective action can only happen in search of a concrete, well defined goal. So, what are you waiting for? Be faithful to gifts received and faithful to the Light that is lighting the way and the Hope that drives you forward. In short, do it.

lundi 20 octobre 2014

In our previous reflection we said that the two other feast
days celebrated in honor of Our Blessed Mother in the month of September: The Exaltation of the Cross and the Feast of our Lady of Sorrows are a
prelude or prologue to her apparition at La Salette.

The Mountain

We continue to reflect on the meaning of the symbols that
surround her apparition and message at La Salette. We start with the Mountain. The Alps is a
very symbolic place that God chose for Mary’s apparition on September 19,
1846. The La Salette Mountain is very
beautiful, pristine and quiet. God‘s
revelation of himself to Moses took place on a mountain. Mountains are
mentioned many times in the bible. For the biblical people, the mountain
symbolizes God’s invitation to people to approach Him. They believed that God
dwelt in the sky.

In the New Testament,
Jesus went to pray on the mountains where he could be alone and quiet. When our
Lady asked the children if they say their prayers well, they answered that they
don’t. So she said to them: “you must say them well, my children. At least
pray the ‘Our Father’ and the ‘Hail Mary’. If you have more time, pray some
more.” Mary teaches the children and us
to pray well and more by imitating her Son, Jesus who went to a quiet place to pray.

Jesus taught his disciples the Beatitudes on a mountain. The
Exultation or Triumph of the Cross took place on a mountain– Mount Calvary and
his ascension took place on the Mount of Olives.

And so God chose the
mountain for Mary’s apparition to mirror God’s revealing of himself to Moses,
to whom God handed on the Law. God sent
Mary to La Salette, to instruct us about these important “laws” through the
children and to pray well just as Jesus did by seeking solitude and silence on
the mountain. Just as Jesus ascended to
heaven from a mountain top, the Mount of Olives, so did Mary when she
commissioned the children: “Well, my children make my message known to all my
people.”

Lastly, the Mountain
at La Salette is so beautiful. It reflects the beauty of creation that God
intended it to be. Its fresh air, its green grass and flowers galore during
spring, summer and autumn; the sea of clouds that gives the eye of the beholder
the feeling that he/she is in God’s private sitting room; its blanket of snow
during winter - all of these are God’s revelation of himself to us. God also
commands humanity to take care of His creation. Surely, our Mother at La
Salette used the beautiful mountain as a stage to teach us to take care of the
earth.

mercredi 8 octobre 2014

We can call September, Mary’s Month. Why? It is because it is the only month
during the year that the Church celebrates four feasts in her honor. October,
the month of the Holy Rosary and the third calendar month dedicated to the
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, is a close second with three. (Yes, May included)

September
8 celebrates her date of birth. How do we know
that this day is Mary’s Birthday since the Scripture is silent about it? In the Catholic Church tradition plays a big
role in our devotional practices

and piety in expressing and living out our
faith.

The tradition that Mary was born on September 8
comes from the Eastern Church which begins its church year on this date. This date helped the Western Church or the
Latin Church (Roman Catholic Church) to determine the date of the Immaculate
Conception of Mary. The tradition that Mary was born on Sept. 8 has existed
since the Sixth Century. This tradition
account from the Proto-Evangelium of James says that Anna and Joachim, Mary’s
parents, prayed for a child and their prayer was granted. (Ref: Proto-Evangelium of St. James)

September
12 celebrates the feast of her Most Holy Name. This feast began in Spain in 1513. It has its origin when the King of Poland,
John Sobiesk, who in order to stop the advancement of Muslins to the outskirts
of Vienna, entrusted himself to Blessed Virgin Mary resulting in the defeat of
the Muslims.

September 15, celebrates the Seven
Sorrows of Mary. This devotion grew out of the reflection of the lay faithful
on the passion of Christ and their desire to promote the union of Christ’s
sufferings with that of his Mother. These seven sorrows are biblical: a) the prophecy
of Simeon, b)the flight into Egypt; c) the loss of the Child Jesus in the
Temple; d) Mary meets Jesus on the way to Calvary; e) Jesus dies on the cross; f) Mary receives the
Body in her arms; g) Jesus’ Body placed in the tomb.

September
19, 1846, celebrates Mary’s apparition
at La Salette, France. Although this feast is not yet in the
liturgical calendar, it is nevertheless, a very important one. The Church, by
God’s inspiration, put all these feasts honoring Mary as precedence of her
apparition at La Salette. The Church once again, put the Exaltation of the
Cross and the feast Of Mary’s Sorrows as “prologue” to her apparition on
September 19, 1846 at La Salette, France. The very large cross, with the pincer
and hammer on each side of the beam, that our Lady wore on her chest speak to
us of the passion and suffering of her Son. The children described it as very
large and very bright and the light that surrounded her came from the Cross – a
symbol of Christ’s resurrection.

The feast of our Lady of Sorrows leads us up to
her crying at La Salette. Our Lady’s tears and sorrow at La Salette invite us
to repentance and conversion so that we can be reconciled with her Son who
suffered death and rose for all of us.

The Blessed
Mother’s apparition on this Holy Mountain uses Scriptural symbolism in teaching
her message of conversion and reconciliation to all her people. For ALL her
people.

“In the summer, only a
few elderly women go to Mass. The rest work on Sundays all summer long. In the
winter, when they don’t know what else to do, they go to Mass just to make fun
of religion.”

Sometimes we use the
term “Sunday obligation” to describe the practice of going to weekly Mass. This
is unfortunate. That such an obligation exists is true, of course. In fact, the
Latin text of the Church’s “Canon Law” says literally that “the faithful are
bound by obligation,” whereas the English translation simply reads, “are
obliged.”

The opening words of
the Beautiful Lady’s discourse are, “If my people refuse to submit.” Can she be
talking about laws and obligations only?

Note that the law
doesn’t say “Catholics” but “the faithful.” Mary doesn’t say “Catholics” but
“my people.” It’s a question of fidelity, of belonging to a community of
worshipers. This is no mere legal obligation, it is a fruit of faith.

The community of
“faithful people” gathers on the Lord’s Day. On the day Christ rose from the
dead he fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy: “He will destroy death forever.” Every
week we celebrate that event as, in the words of the Psalm, he spreads a table
before us and, in the image of today’s parable, he invites us to the King’s
feast.

In the parable, when
the invited guests refused to come to the feast, the king sends his servants
with orders to issue new invitations to everyone they meet. We are told that
this included “bad and good alike.” The only requirement was the wedding
garment.

St. Paul writes: “I
can do all things in him who strengthens me.” He is nourished by his faith. It
gives him everything he needs for every circumstance. The same is possible for
us.

The “faithful” are the
People of God, those who 1) have faith—perhaps this is what the “wedding
garment” represents—2) live their faith, 3) nourish their faith, and 4)
celebrate their faith with one another.

At La Salette Mary
challenges us to do all these things, as she renews the invitation to the
Feast.

vendredi 3 octobre 2014

Here she is, in a perfectly natural, unposed picture of the servant child.
There are many calls to serve our loving God as we go through life. It is hard to count them all. It is also hard to be satisfied about the results that we achieved here and there along the way. We know that there were good times and mediocre ones. We pray that God takes them and appreciates them for what they are worth. We thank Him for His patience and His generous mercy.
Belle hs been writing meditations for the Sunday Parish Bulletin for many years. I and God and Our Holy Mother have finally convinced her to share her spirituality with us, in public. We will look forward to praying with her on Mondays.